Sunday Nov 4, 2012 Robin Stears

 Theme: "All Fired Up" - Fire can precede both words in each two-word theme entry.

 23A. Extra-strength panic button? : POWER ALARM. Fire power. Fire alarm.

29A. "No hitting below the belt" et al.? : FIGHTER CODE. Fire fighter. Fire code.

49A. Saltine special? : CRACKER SALE. Firecracker. Fire sale.

71A. Subdivision at the mannequin factory? : ARM DEPARTMENT. Fire arm. Fire department.

95A. First critters on a farm? : STARTER ANTS. Fire starter. Fire ants.

113A. Legion of ventriloquist dummies? : WOOD BRIGADE. Firewood. Fire brigade.

124A. Sharon's home? : STONE PLACE. Firestone. Fireplace. Sharon Stone.

43D. Hard-to-read preliminary print? : LIGHT PROOF. Firelight. Fireproof.

48D. Head judge on "Top Chef"? : CHIEF EATER. Fire chief. Fire-eater.

Robin is back! Remember her "Front money" puzzle a while ago? With a dollar sign in the grid. Simply amazing.

Today's theme is also intricate. You need the new phrases to have surface sense and pair up symmetrically.

 Across:

1. Weathered the storm : COPED. Timely clue. Sorry about your lost cottage, Linda. Will you build another one?

6. Crocodile's greeting? : G-DAY. "Crocodile" Dundee then.

10. Turquoise relative : AQUA

14. Comment to the audience : ASIDE. Dodo told me Bill G also called her about her computer problem. Thanks for caring, Bill!

19. Fade away : ABATE

20. Dramatic solo, often : ARIA

21. Abridges : CUTS

22. Host at a communion : WAFER. I don't get this clue.

25. Lukas of "Witness" : HAAS

26. Photographer Adams : ANSEL

27. Kevin's "Footloose" role : REN. Kevin Bacon. I don't know any REN other than "Stimpy's pal".

28. Spin doctor's concern : IMAGE

31. St. Clare's town : ASSISI

33. Kingdom : REALM

35. "Silent Spring" subj. : DDT

36. "I __ mean it" : DIDN'T

39. Orbital shape : ELLIPSE

42. Detrained, say : ALIT

46. Acronymic candy company : NECCO (New England Confectionery Company)

52. Grammar best-seller "Woe __" : IS I. Guessed.

53. Filmmaker who alternates top billing with his brother : ETHAN COEN. And Joel Coen. The pride of Minnesota.

55. SeaWorld barker : SEAL

56. Babydoll : SUGAR

58. Hidden retreat : LAIR. CrossEyedDave must be going crazy without internet. Pas de chat, remember the "Puff, the Magic Dragon" verses you & AriadneArts wrote a few weeks ago? Dave was so impressed that he sent the blog discussion to the Peter, Paul & Mary fan club.

59. Savory gelatin : ASPIC. Sure miss my grandma's aspic and dumplings.

61. Tap type : SOFT SHOE

63. Schumann songs : LIEDER. Plural of lied.

65. "Magic Hour" author Susan : ISAACs. Never heard of the book.

69. Destined : MEANT

70. Mischievous sort : ELF

74. La Jolla winter hrs. : PST

77. Willies-inducing : EERIE

79. World's largest desert : SAHARA

80. More beloved : DEARER.  

82. Pots-and-pans noises : CLATTERS

85. "Fiddler" meddler : YENTE

87. Oak trunk : BOLE

88. Gate fastener : LATCH

89. Yom Kippur War prime minister : MEIR (Golda)

92. Ho-hum : WEARISOME

94. "You __ My Sunshine" : ARE

99. Upholstery jobs : SOFAS

100. Curiosity destination : MARS

102. Notable 1968 groom : ONASSIS (Ari). He actully loved Maria Callas.

103. Hombre's title : SENOR

105. Time's 2006 Person of the Year : YOU. Cop-out choice.

107. Joint at the corner : MITER

109. Turns to swing : AT BATS

118. Texas attraction : ALAMO

121. __ kwon do : TAE

122. Product suffix suggesting noodles : A-RONI

123. Theater level : LOGE

126. Zellweger of "Chicago" : RENEE

127. The Auld Sod : ERIN

128. "Shucks" : HECK

129. Flop or lop follower : EARED

130. Gets in the game : PLAYS

131. Faction : SECT

132. Silk Road locale : ASIA

133. "NYPD Blue" actor : SMITS (Jimmy). He played the cool Bobby Simone.

Down:

1. "Lost Horizon" director : CAPRA (Frank)

2. Bright-toned winds : OBOES

3. Little men : PAWNS

4. When Nancy bakes? : ETE. Nancy the French city.

5. Mockery : DERISION

6. Jamboree : GALA

7. Big snooze : DRAG

8. ABC or BET, e.g. : AIRER

9. Versatile veggie : YAM. Not versatile to me.

10. Paris was too much for him : ACHILLES. Paris killed Achilles, who had killed his brother Hector. But, "We'll always have Paris".

11. Serious predicament : QUAGMIRE

12. Its motto is "Industry" : UTAH

13. Busy ed.'s request : ASST.  Has to be Rich's clue. He's one busy "editor".

14. Cy Young, e.g. : AWARD. No one will top his 511 career wins.

15. Safe places : SANCTA

16. In that case : IF SO

17. Transfer document : DEED

18. Della's creator : ERLE. Della Street.

24. In the center of : AMID

29. Columbo portrayer : FALK (Peter)

30. Biographer Leon : EDEL. Henry James biographer. I learned from doing Xwords.

32. Wallet item : ID CARD. 104. 32-Down datum : NAME

34. Common Market inits. : EEC

37. Some PX patrons : NCOs

38. Apprehensive : TREPID. I've only used Intrepid.

40. Antidrug commercials, e.g., briefly : PSAs

41. Seven-veil dancer : SALOME

44. Golfer Aoki : ISAO. Literally "achievement". Aoki = "Green tree".

45. Freeway roller : TIRE

46. Harper Lee's first name : NELLE.  Did not know this. She's as reclusive as J.D. Salinger.

47. Online commerce : E-TAIL

50. Ouzo flavorings : ANISES

51. Big spread : ESTATE

54. "Sex and the City" role : CARRIE

57. Adm.'s milieu : USN

60. Bit of bullring gear : CAPA. "Cape" in Spanish.

62. Dent site : FENDER

64. "At the __ Core": Burroughs novel : EARTH'S. Never developed an interest for science fiction.

66. Reclining chair user's sigh : AAH

67. Supercomputer name : CRAY

68. Scattered : STREWN

72. Broadway's first Oakley : MERMAN (Ethel). New trivia to me.

73. "The Luncheon on the Grass" and "Olympia," e.g. : MANETs. Both are at Musée d'Orsay. Very daring eyes.

"The Luncheon on the Grass"

"Olympia"

75. Alabama march city : SELMA

76. Maple and pine : TREES

78. Inclusive abbr. : ETC

81. Soak up : ABSORB

82. Chowder tidbit : CLAM

83. Zhivago's love : LARA. Also love Julie Christie in "Away from Her".

84. Antitoxin sources : SERA

86. Put a charge into? : TASE

90. "I can't explain how I did that" : IT'S MAGIC. No one with a K in their first name has lost a presidential re-election! It's magic.

91. Junk mail addressee : RESIDENT

93. Chemical variants : ISOTOPES

96. __ de force : TOUR

97. Baptism, for one : RITE

98. Polymer ending : ASE

101. Bondi Beach city : SYDNEY. I associate Bondi Beach with Kazie & Jessica Hart.

106. Stage prizes : OBIEs

108. Motel posting : RATES

110. Asteroids creator : ATARI

111. "Don't play," on a score : TACET. Must have the same root as Tacit.

112. Origins : SEEDS

113. Bend : WARP

114. Hershiser of ESPN : OREL

115. Chaplin's fourth wife : OONA. Long time no see.

116. French cruise stops : ILES

117. Bush fighter : GORE. I'm excited about next Tuesday. First time to cast a vote for a US president.

119. Centers of activity : LOCI

120. "My Way" lyricist : ANKA (Paul)

124. '50s song syllable : SHA

125. Hasty escape : LAM

C.C.

Sunday April 1, 2012 Robin Stears

Theme: Front Money - The first word of each theme entry can precede "Money". And a Dollar ($) sign is formed by black squares in the middle of the grid.

23A. Pride of a collection : PRIZE SPECIMEN. Prize money. The jackpot.

37A. Nexus One, for one : SMART PHONE. Smart money. Wise investors or investment. Boomer used to subscribe SmartMoney magazine. And 6D. 37-Across download : APP

102A. Accountant's creation : PAPER TRAIL. Paper money.

118A. Line in many a dairy ad? : MILK MOUSTACHE. Got Milk ad. Milk money. Not such money for me as a kid. Did not drink milk. Still don't.

13D. "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?" inquirer : MAD HATTER. Mad money. Emergency fund. Or Jim Cramer's shouting program. He's so loud.

15D. 1994 Sony release : PLAYSTATION. Play money. Monopoly.

65D. Shoes with a basset hound logo : HUSH PUPPIES. Hush money. To buy silence.

81D. Aircraft carrier pilot's waiting area : READY ROOM. Ready money. Cash. Ready room is a new concept to me.

When I downloaded puzzle and saw the title, I thought the first word of each theme answer would be cabbage, clam, dough, etc, slang for money.

I was wondering why the grid has 83 black squares with only 8 theme entries of relatively short length. 74-78 is our Sunday norm. Then I found out the Dollar sign. No wonder. Great concept, Robin!

Across:

1. Golden Raspberry, e.g. : AWARD. Razzie awards. The worst actor/actress, etc.

6. "__ Fideles" : ADESTE

12. "__ doctor, not a bricklayer!": "Star Trek" line : I'M A

15. "Frontline" airer : PBS

18. What Fuzzbusters detect : RADAR

19. Some boas : PYTHONS

21. It can be hard to refold : MAP. What were you picturing?

22. Cut off : LOP. Thought of Irish Miss's finger story yesterday. Ouch! All your scar stories are scary.

25. Admire to excess : ADULATE. Then you start to "Worship".

27. Pacific Surfliner operator : AMTRAK. A blend of America and track.

28. Authority figure : HIERARCH. We see "Hierarchy" more often.

30. Thornfield Hall governess : EYRE (Jane)

31. Golfer's slice, say : MIS-HIT. I've never learned how to fade/draw.

34. U.S. document publisher : GPO

35. Taken down a peg : ABASED

41. "Scrumptious!" : YUM

42. Judges on "Top Chef" : TASTES. I like "Chopped". You, Steve?

43. Food spearer : TINE

44. Summoned : RANG

45. Bach work : PARTITA. No idea.What does the word mean?

47. Prefix for calling : AREA CODE

49. 401(k) relative : IRA

52. "Joyeux __!" : NOEL

53. Pro __: for now : TEM

56. Sister of Clotho : ATROPOS. One of the three Fates. Wiki said she chose the mechanism of death and ended the life of each mortal by cutting their thread with her "abhorred shears". And Clotho spun the thread and Lachesis measured the length.

57. The 5 in "10 ÷ 5," e.g. : DIVISOR

59. Loaded, in Logroño : RICO. Rich in Spanish.

60. 2012 rival of Mitt and Rick : NEWT

61. Like LAX, around the clock : OPEN

62. Methuselah's father : ENOCH. Methuselah is Noah's grandfather.

63. Chevy SUV : TAHOE

67. Isr. neighbor : SYR (Syria)

69. Org. with quarantine authority : CDC

72. Kroner spenders : DANES. Kroner is also the money unit in Norway.

73. Horse play : EQUUS. Rare UU combo.

74. DOJ employee : ATTY. Department of Justice.

78. Charged things : IONS

80. One of the deadly sins : LUST. Lusting long legs is a sin, Splynter.

81. "Fear Street" series author : R.L. STINE. Never read the book.

84. Less wasteful : GREENER

88. "Well, __-di-dah!" : LAH

89. Green of Austin Powers movies : SETH

90. Giant legend : OTT (Mel). NY Giants (1926-1947).

91. Stuffed, cylindrical dishes : ROULADES. From French "rouler", meaning "to roll". This looks tasty, Bill!

93. Slathered on, as Brylcreem : POMADED

96. "Categorical imperative" philosopher : KANT (Immanuel)

97. Data : INFO

98. Accustomed : INURED. I'm enured to the new D-Otto, who prefers naughtiness over NATTINESS, and G-string over G-STARS.

100. Killer in a classic "SNL" sketch series : BEE

104. __ Square, adjacent to the Boston Marathon finish line : COPLEY. Well, gimme for Barry G & Marti. Unknown to me.

105. Item in a lock : OAR. Boat!

106. 1987 Beatty flop : ISHTAR

107. "Real dogs eat meat" brand : ALPO

108. Upbraid : REPROACH

111. Whitman's dooryard bloomers : LILACS. "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd.."

116. Colorful arc : RAINBOW

121. Somme one : UNE

122. Preschool group? : ROE. Clever clue. Fish swim in schools.

123. Custard-filled desserts : ECLAIRS

124. Divider of continents : OCEAN

125. Conscription org. : SSS

126. Hrs. in classifieds : AMs

127. Minute Maid Park team : ASTROS. Houston Astros.

128. Geeky types : NERDS

Down:

1. Instrument for Giuseppe's glissandi : ARPA. Italian for "harp"?

2. Not so hot : WARM

3. Mine entrance : ADIT. Haven't seen this word for a long time.

4. Motorola flip phone introduced in 2004 : RAZR

5. Emulated Alice : DREAMT

7. Salon supply : DYE

8. Artwork in a clichéd come-on : ETCHING

9. Islamic sectarian : SHI'ITE. And Sunni.

10. Large volume : TOME

11. Loafer's lack : ENERGY

12. "There's no step 3!" computer : iMAC

14. Kwik-E-Mart operator : APU

16. Sacred Indian fig : BO TREE. No clue. It's said Buddha achieved his enlightenment under this tree.

17. Earns a citation? : SPEEDS

20. Beat others to, as sale merchandise : SNAP UP

24. Train for a fight, say : SKIP ROPE. Boxing, right?

26. Slightest : LEAST

29. Appian Way builders : ROMANS

32. They're rarely seen on rainy days : SHADOWS

33. "Such a lonely word," to Billy Joel : HONESTY

36. Judge's determination : BAIL

37. Union Sq., e.g. : STA

38. "See, señor!" : MIRA. Spanish for "Look!". New to me also.

39. Work without __ : A NET

40. Back : REAR

46. Joey in a Milne book : ROO. Joey is baby kangaroo.

48. Volcanic formations : CONES

49. 2011 Colbie Caillat hit : I DO

50. Upholstery problem : RIP

51. Street sign abbr. : AVE

54. Brutus's "Behold!" : ECCE

55. Eponymous mineralogist : MOHS. Hence Mohs scale.

58. Forbes rival : INC

59. Messenger molecule : RNA

62. Father of Henry II : EDSEL

63. Squeal : TELL

64. Cyan : AQUA. Same as Tiffany Blue, right?

66. Tagged between bases : OUT

68. Hamelin critter : RAT

70. Word whose last two letters are an example of it : DIGRAPH. PH together represents one sound F.

71. Noble's crown : CORONET

75. Madre's hermano : TIO

76. Blowup cause : TNT. Love this clip CrossEyedDave linked yesterday. Did sound like a spoof.

77. On the other hand : YET

79. Some earth tones : NEUTRALS

82. Old Ford luxury car : LTD

83. 1984 Cyndi Lauper hit : SHE BOP. I skip those YouTube songs with ads.

85. "We wear short shorts" brand : NAIR

86. Tracy Turnblad's mom in "Hairspray" : EDNA

87. S&L offering : RE-FI

89. Hook's right hand : SMEE

92. Beethoven's fifth? : SOL. Oh, I see, "Do re mi fa SOL..."

94. DuPont acrylic : ORLON

95. "Oh, my" : DEAR ME

96. Region known for its wool : KASHMIR

98. Ill-fated son of Daedalus : ICARUS. Thanks to Lemonade, now I remember Daedalus.

99. "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" family : NOLANS. Drew a blank. The only way I could nail this one is when the clue is "Pitcher Ryan and others".

101. Beethoven's Third : EROICA

102. Complain about : PICK AT

103. Neptune's largest moon : TRITON

109. Ladies on a lea : EWES

110. "__ fair in ..." : ALL'S. In love and war and crossword.

112. Valentine trim : LACE

113. Maker of Aspire computers : ACER. Finally the computer clue! Rich always clued ACER as tennis related.

114. Sudan neighbor : CHAD

115. D.C. 100 : SENS

117. Lingerie item : BRA. Lovely.

119. El Dorado treasure : ORO. Gold.

120. __ Nautilus : USS

Answer grid.

C.C.

Wednesday, February 1 2012 Robin Stears

Theme: B+. B homophones PLUS another word to complete the phrase. For extra B credit, every single clue across and down starts with a B.

17A. Buzz-filled 2007 animated film : BEE MOVIE. A Dreamworks Animation vehicle for Jerry Seinfeld who co-wrote the screenplay and voiced the lead character.

30A. Betty White co-star in "The Golden Girls" : BEA ARTHUR. I wonder what her Shortz Factor is?

43A. Biotin, thiamine et al. : B VITAMINS. There seem to be many more vitamin B's than A, C or D's. Someone cleverer than what I is can explain.

57A. Behave candidly : BE HONEST. OK, I'll give this an A+

Steve at your service, pinch-hitting on this first day of February (where did January go?) Robin "Stears" us into the month with a blazingly brilliant alliteration exercise. I've never seen anything quite like this treatment of the cluing before, has anyone else?

Across:

1. Bank heist : JOB

4. Bedframe piece : SLAT

8. Beyond harmful : LETHAL

14. "... by __ other name ..." : ANY. Juliet's words to Romeo could well be described as a PAEAN

15. Bare bones : PITH. Not the orange peel or helmet pith, but the root of the "pithy phrase"

16. Billiard ball feature, about half the time : STRIPE. In the UK you play billiards with three balls, none of which have a stripe. Here in the US however, you have seven solids, seven stripes and the black 8-ball.

19. Brings together : UNITES

20. Burdensome additional levy : SURTAX. I think I've only ever seen this word used on a "Chance" card in Monopoly, I always seemed to be paying out taxes. A life lesson at an early age?

22. Boldly states : AVERS. No-one on this blog ever avers.

23. Birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen : ODENSE. Here he is in his hometown.

26. Baker's meas. : TSP. I can never remember if it's meant to be a level teaspoonful or a heaped one. I don't bake for that reason.

28. "Behold," to Brutus : ECCE

29. Ball-shaped frozen dessert : BOMBE. Food! Preferably chocolate, please.

32. "Ben-Hur," e.g. : EPIC

33. Bedrock resident : BARNEY Rubble, Fred's BUB

34. "But then again ..." : YET

35. Bug-bitten? : ILL

36. Brown who wrote "The Da Vinci Code" : DAN

37. Billion-year period : EON

40. Brother of Judah : SIMEON. Something I learned today!

42. Bump off : SLAY. Somehow, bumping off seems a nicer way of consigning someone to the hereafter than slaying them.

47. Blinked the sleep from one's eyes : AWOKE

48. Bothersome parasites : LICE. Ewwwww. I refrained from posting a link here, the pictures gave me the shudders.

49. By order of : PER

50. Bigheaded sort : EGOIST. I always thought the word was EGOTIST until I started doing crosswords and discovered they are synonyms.

51. Bing Crosby's "__ You Glad You're You?" : AREN'T

53. Baseball team's list of players : ROSTER Basketball would have worked here too, but most other sports wouldn't have alliterated (if that's a real word?)

55. Balanced state : STASIS

61. Black-tie wear : TUXEDO. I'm oddly proud that my tux still fits, and no, I didn't buy it last week.

62. Bardot's "the same" : EGAL. Brigitte's "equal". The national motto of France is "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" - Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood.

63. Breathtaking snake? : BOA

64. Began, as a lawn : SEEDED. We also have SOD later to cover all our grass-growing bases.

65. Beachfront property? : SAND

66. Buddy : BUB

Down:

1. Boxer's punch : JAB

2. Binary digit : ONE

3. "Bon voyage!" : BYE

4. Better half, so to speak : SPOUSE. I like how this is gender-neutral!

5. Burgundy book : LIVRE. I wanted WINE LIST first, but it's French-language February!

6. Bickering : AT IT. Knock it off, you bloggers back there.

7. Box office setting : THEATER

8. Baton Rouge sch. : L.S.U. We fondly know them from puzzles as the Tigers.

9. Blower of Sicilian smoke : ETNA

10. Buffer between a hot plate and a dinner table : TRIVET

11. Built for NASA, say : HI-TECH. As "built" is past tense, that's accurate. Your cellphone has about a billion times more computing power than the Space Shuttle. (From C.C.: "Built" here is a past particle and used as an adjective, no?)

12. Brief summary : APERCU. More French, but this word is adopted into English now, and usually written without the cute cedilla accent dangling from the C.

13. __ Bear: Ursa Minor : LESSER I wanted LITTLE first, then backtracked.

18. Broadcaster of "Morning Joe" : MSNBC

21. Blackboard symbols in the locker room : X'S AND O'S. Here is the winning play in Sunday's upcoming Superbowl (sorry, I can't remember which coach drew it up for me)

23. Bride's passé promise : OBEY. I over-thought this and had "I DID" first.

24. Birdbrain : DOPE. Me for a few of my first guesses today.

25. Belch, say : EMIT.

27. Blissful song : PAEAN

30. Better for enjoying the outdoors, as weather : BALMIER

31. "Belshazzar's Feast" painter Rembrandt van __ : RYN

33. "Black Sunday" airship : BLIMP. We'll see the blimp at the Superbowl, just hopefully not as closely as in the movie.

35. Biblical prophet: Abbr. : ISA

37. Blond sci-fi race : ELOI. Those "War of the Worlds" folk.

38. Barrel sources : OAKS. For aging your Chardonnay, whiskey or anything else that takes your fancy.

39. Bolshevik's denial : NYET

41. Bundles up (in) : ENROBES. A BOMBE is ENROBED in chocolate. I'm getting hungry.

42. Bound by oath : SWORN

43. Blaring siren sounds : BLASTS

44. Basis of morality : VIRTUE

45. Belaying tool for climbers : ICE AXE. Climber Pete Schoening saved six climbing companions who fell while roped together on K2 in an incredible feat known as simply "The Belay"; he was the seventh and last climber and arrested all of the fallers with a belay around his ice-axe.

46. Became edgy : TENSED

47. Belonging to an ancient time : AGE-OLD

50. "Blood Simple" co-screenwriter Coen : ETHAN. Joel's brother.

52. Bay of Fundy wonder : TIDE. The bay has a tidal range in excess of 50 feet.

54. Big name in video games : SEGA

56. Bald spot filler : SOD

58. Backward flow : EBB. The EBB TIDE in the Bay of Fundy is pretty dramatic!

59. Bronze coin of old France : SOU

60. Bar bill : TAB. I'm out of here, can I get mine please?

Answer grid.

Steve

Note from C.C.:

I'm very happy to announce that from now on Steve will blog one (or two) Wednesday puzzle for us every month. Steve is a British and came to the US in 1995. A serious foodie. I look forward to many yummy offerings from him.

Friday June 12, 2009 Robin Stears

Theme: Try It!

17A: Where Jerry Garcia kept food for the band?: DEAD PANTRY (Deadpan)

28A: Minimalist wall hanging?: BLANK TAPESTRY (Blank Tapes)

47A: Small clergy group?: MICRO MINISTRY (Micro Minis)

64A: Wedding cake mock-up?: FAUX PASTRY (Faux Pas)

About a month ago, Rich Norris clued CHERRY GARCIA as "Ice cream flavor honoring a Grateful Dead icon" in his "Shades of Red" puzzle.

I figured out the theme very quickly, and immediately gave BLANK TAPESTRY and every other theme entry a TRY. I think this girl's micro mini skirt would look better without the big belt. Yes? Thought of WM's love for a cake blog and her "Faux Finisher" daughter when I filled in FAUX PASTRY.

I liked this puzzle a lot. It's BEAUT (36A: Doozy). The theme is so simple yet creative. The original base phrases and the new made-up entries are quite livley.

Lots of black squares, 44, the limit on Rich Norris's 15*15. Most of the other newspaper puzzles cap the number at 38.

Have a look at the constructor Robin Stears's blog. She has written several books.

Across:

1A: Schooner features? JIBS. Nice to start a grid with a letter J.

5A: Kingdom called the Friendly Islands: TONGA. Ugh. I thought of Bhutan where Gross National Happiness index rather than GNP is measured. TONGA is literally "South" in many Polynesian language, according to Wiki.

10A: Biblical plague insect: GNAT. Easy guess. I am not aware of GNAT's Biblical reference. I thought it's locust.

16A: Wear the crown: RULE. Or REIGN.

20A: Fertilizer source: ALGAE

22A: Tar Heel State university: ELON. Often clued just as "North Carolina university".

23A: 1990s speed skating gold medalist: KOSS (Johann Olav). Absolutely no idea. Johanna Olav KOSS is from Norway.

26A: One with a habit: NUN. A rare repeat clue.

35A: Chichi: ARTY. It's the same as ARTSY, isn't it? The clue made me think of Golf Hall-of-Famer Chi Chi Rodriguez.

38A: North Carolina country: ASHE. Unknown to me. Here is the map. Was it named someone surnamed ASHE?

40A: Blue shades: TEALS. The answer might be AQUAS if this were a Barry Silk puzzle.

42A: __ race: ARMS

45A: "East of Eden" brother: ARON. His twin brother is Cal. I thought James Dean was so so in the movie.

46A: Expressive rock genre: EMO. What exactly is the EMO genre?

51A: __-de-vie: brandy: EAU. Literally water of life.

56A: Bygone carrier: TWA. Recklessly wrote down SST.

67A: Blacken: SEAR. I love seared tuna, crusted with sesame seeds, YUMMY! (33D: Scrumptious).

68A: Slacker: IDLER

71A: Bear named for a president: TEDDY. T.R. originated "Speak softly and carry a big stick".

72A: Strategic WWI river: YSER. This has become a gimme. YSER river flows to the North Sea.

Down:

1D: Actress Pinkett Smith: JADA. Another gimme. Will Smith's wife. Both are scientologists, I think.

2D: Country on the Denmark Str.: ICEL. Ah, its most well-known citizen is probably Björk. I thought that swan address is rather cute. Don't understand why it's ridiculed.

3D: Crow: BRAG

4D: "Bad Blood" singer: SEDAKA. This singer does not look like Neil SEDAKA. Maybe I am familiar with the aged SEDAKA.

5D: Luggage-screening gp.: TSA (Transportation Security Administration). Established after 9/11.

6D: Part of BYO: OWN. Bring Your OWN.

8D: "The Day the Earth Stood Still" robot: GORT. Stumper. Here is a picture. Is it related to the Jewish robot golem?

10D: Beverage brewed in a gaiwan: GREEN TEA. "Gaiwan" is literally "lidded bowl".

13D: Many a "One Tree Hill" character: TEEN. The answer revealed itself. Not familiar with this TEEN TV drama.

18D: Drudge: PEON. Noun. I thought of TOIL first.

24D: 32-card game: SKAT. For three players.

25D: Flow: STREAM

27D: Plug-and-play PC port: USB (Universal Serial Bus)

28D: Like a close buddy: BOSOM

29D: Actress Christine: LAHTI. Total stranger to me. Wiki says her name is Finnish for "gulf"/"bay"/"cove". And she won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her role in "Chicago Hope".

30D: __ 2600: early game console: ATARI

31D: Road cones: PYLONS. Holy cow. I had no idea that these cones have a special name.

37D: Eponymous Chinese general: TSO

39D: Substitute for dropped items: ET CETERA. Probably my favorite clue today.

44D: Palindromic altar: ARA. This has become a gimme also.

48D: Equip: OUTFIT

49D: Something to keep a teller busy?: SAGA. Nice play on tell-er.

50D: Inferior: TRASHY. Somehow I thought of ersatz.

53D: Fresh approach?: SASS. The answer revealed itself. I did not know "fresh" can mean "impudent" as well.

55D: Bold alternative: Abbr.: ITAL. Italic.

57D: 1973 defendant: WADE. Roe v. WADE

58D: "Should __ acquaintance ...": AULD. Again, the answer revealed itself. I only know the song title "AULD Lang Syne".

61D: Della's creator: ERLE. ERLE Stanley Gardner. Della Street is the secretary of Perry Mason.

62D: Batik worker: DYER

66D: Meddle: PRY. Rhymed with the theme TRY.

Answer grid.

C.C.